ING Australia has expanded its self-employed lending policy, introducing new income verification options and loosening rules around company ownership and trust structures.
The bank has made a range of changes to its self-employed policy in order to provide more flexibility and improve turnaround times for borrowers who may not fit traditional documentation requirements, while moving to make the bank more competitive in this segment.
The changes – which take effect today (5 December) – include a new, shorter income verification option, bringing in the ability for self-employed borrowers to use 50 per cent of their company ownership income for assessment, and accepting single-layer trust structures (like company to family trust) for serviceability.
Previously, ING required 100 per cent ownership for company income to be considered, which brokers had flagged as a key constraint for self-employed applicants. As such, ING has now moved to enable borrowers who own at least 50 per cent of a company to use their proportional share of that company’s income for serviceability.
The bank has likewise broadened the acceptance of trust income, now allowing simple single-layer structures, such as a company distributing to a family trust.
Multi-layer arrangements remain out of scope for the one-year and two-year income verification options, but ING will now accept income that flows from a company to a trust before being distributed to the borrower.
ING noted that its core self-employed credit criteria, products, and limits remain unchanged.
Details of the changes
Brokers can now provide their self-employed clients with three distinct income verification pathways: a new one-year option, a two-year financials option, and an approach that uses income solely from individual tax returns (ITRs).
The bank said that it has brought in the one-year income option to make income verification easier for borrowers (however, they can still use the two-year option if they so wish).
Under the one-year policy, customers can now rely on a single year of income, with a 90 per cent shading applied, provided they meet several conditions. These include a maximum loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 80 per cent for both owner-occupied and investment loans, no debt consolidation, and the provision of a notice of assessment.
Borrowers must also have at least two years of trading history in their current business, hold a minimum 50 per cent ownership if applying through a company, and use only simple, single-layer trust structures. ITRs are permitted.
The two-year policy remains available for borrowers who can provide two years of financials. Under this method, 100 per cent of income can be used for servicing, with a maximum LVR of 95 per cent for owner-occupied and 90 per cent LVR for investment.
Debt consolidation is allowed. As with the one-year approach, applicants must hold at least 50 per cent company ownership and use only single-layer trust structures, with multi-layer arrangements remaining ineligible.
A third option allows customers to use income verified solely through individual tax returns, relying on two years of income. This method supports LVRs up to 95 per cent. However, retained or undistributed profits and addbacks cannot be included in serviceability calculations. For the ITR option, multi-layer structures are permitted only in cases where undistributed company profits or addbacks are not being used. Company or trust financials must still be supplied to demonstrate that the business is trading profitably.
According to ING, the combined policy changes are designed to simplify the income verification process and accommodate the “evolving needs” of small-business owners, freelancers, and company directors.
The bank said the updates were driven heavily by broker feedback and reflect the next major growth opportunity for its mortgage portfolio.
Speaking to The Adviser about why the bank has made the changes, Sergio Delvescovo, ING Australia’s national sales manager for brokers, said: “For brokers, we just weren’t a consideration in a self-employed segment. Not allowing one-year financials was one of those reasons, but some of the other restrictions around company ownership and the utilisation of trust income was also important.
“We know that there are different situations for self-employed borrowers, which we want to cater for, to ensure we are meeting the evolving needs of the self-employed segment.
“So, when you look at our options now, we have the option of a simple, one-year income verification, then you have our two-year financials policy that they can still continue to utilise and, as well, the ability to utilise individual tax returns.
“These are the three key changes that we’re introducing to expand and simplify our options for our self-employed customers.”
Delvescovo added that ING Australia had experienced “really strong growth over the last 12–18 months” as a result of its continuing enhancements to credit policy.
These include improving borrowing capacity enhancements for investors, which have reportedly helped the bank grow its investor segments by “about 38 per cent”, according to Delvescovo.
He continued: “Now, we see the self-employed segment as the next opportunity for us.”
The bank will brief brokers on the changes ahead of the policy going live and is planning webinars and events in early 2026 to further support the rollout.
[Related: ANZ updates lending policy for self-employed borrowers]
